16 OFFA COMMUNITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF A REMOTE MEETING OF THE OFFA COMMUNITY COUNCIL HELD ON THURSDAY 3rd June 2021

MEMBERS Councillor Kevin Hughes (Chairman)* “ Linda Subacchi (Vice Chair )*

“ Caroline Dawson “ Christine Griffiths “ R Alun Jenkins “ Alex Jones* “ David Jones “ Susan Jones “ Barbara Lloyd “ Elane Roberts “ Sarah Roberts “ Graham Rogers “ Jim Steele “ Steven Vale* “ John Williams “ Keith Williams “ Graham Wynn* “ Phillip Wynn *Absent The meeting was also attended by WCBC Paul Roberts and representatives from Woodswork CIC.

In the absence of the Chair and Vice-chair the meeting was chaired by Cllr Keith Williams.

51 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Kevin Hughes, Linda Subacchi, Alex Jones, Steven Vale and Graham Wynn.

52 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST Cllr David Jones declared a non-prejudicial interest in the grant request by St Giles School.

53 POLICE MATTERS The crime report for May was received as follows:

Incident Update 01/05/2021 – 31/05/2021 01/05/2021 – Peel Street – Burglary 01/05/2021 – Bryn Offa – Stone thrown at window 01/05/2021 – Bryn Offa – Stone thrown at vehicle 04/05/2021 - Mason Avenue – Car window smashed 04/05/2021 – Bennions Road – Items stolen from shed 08/05/2021 – Premier Inn Mold Road – Ceiling tile damaged in a room 08/05/2021 – Morrisons – trolley pushed into a vehicle in the car park 17

09/05/2021 – Ysgol Clywedog, Ruthin Road – an item thrown at vehicle 09/05/2021 – Ruthin Road – an item thrown at a vehicle 10/05/2021 – Ruthin Road – an item thrown at a vehicle 10/05/2021 – Bryn Coch – Smashed upstairs window 10/05/2021 – Ruthin Road – Rock thrown car 16/05/2021- Hospital – damage to a door 17/05/2021 – Hurst Newton – Theft of pedal cycle 22/05/2021 – Gibson Street – tried to gain entry into log cabin in back garden 24/05/2021 – Ruthin Road – Stone thrown at vehicle 27/05/2021 – CO-OP Rhostyllen – Shoplifting

ASB Issue: A large part of our demand is focused on Ruthin Road due to the problems of stone throwing and the number of criminal damage jobs. Patrols have been increased within this area and also in Morrisons and Aldi. Drug activity around the whole Pen y Bryn and Peace Gardens on Ruthin Road, PCSO Chris has an on-going project for the Peace Gardens to try and tidy the area up.

Crime Trends: Shopliftings increased in Morrisons & Aldi Stone throwing along Ruthin Road causing damage to vehicles

On 26th May 2021 all PCSO’s that were on duty conducted foot patrol within the Offa hotspots to increase our high visibility patrols. We have received a lot of good feedback from the local community in relation to this and will be conducting this every couple of weeks.

The Clerk reported that the new CCTv camera for Penybryn had still not been connected as WCBC engineers were waiting for a new connector box to add to the column. The new CCTV camera for Dol Isaf had been ordered.

Edward Street – a complaint had been received from a resident regarding some householders putting cones out to preserve parking spaces. The Clerk was asked to report this problem to the police and Highways Officers at WCBC.

43 Rd – a complaint had been received about a party wall that had been removed by builders during renovations at the Oak Tree apparently without Conservation area planning permission. The Clerk was asked to report this to the Enforcement Department at WCBC.

Bron y dre garages – Cllr R Alun Jenkins provided an update on the promised security measures to be put in place at Bron-y-dre Garages. He will visit the site again and check with the Housing Department at WCBC and report back.

Hafan y Dre toilets – a complaint was received that ‘The Parish’ Public House is encroaching onto the public area near the Albion Toilets and Hafan y Dre “rest centre. They had been given a temporary licence to use this area under the Welsh Government Covid Emergency powers to help businesses survive. However it appears that the mapped area agreed for their use is not being adhered to and further enquiries into this will be made by the Town Centre Manager at WCBC.

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54 CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES The Minutes of the Remote Annual Council meeting held on 6th May 2021 were confirmed as a true and accurate record. It was RESOLVED for the minutes to be signed at the next Council meeting that meets in person.

55 MATTERS ARISING

CCTV camera Dol Isaf – this had now been ordered.

56 COMMITTEE REPORTS

The Planning Committee – 6th and 18th May 2021 The reports of the Planning Committee were received and accepted by the Council.

The Annual Management and Finance Committee Meeting – 18th May 2021 The report of the Annual Management and Finance meeting held on the 18th May 2021 was received and accepted by the Council.

57 WOODSWORK CIC

The meeting was attended by Christina Walker, Rona Harper and Alison Fuller to give the first monthly report on developments at Little Vawnog under the terms of the SLA. The first community event had been held on Saturday 22nd May when a ‘dead-hedge’ had been constructed to prevent widening of part of the pathway. The Head of the Geography dept at Ysgol Clywedog had visited the site and was keen to involve some of the year groups in the work. Work is planned to start removing the Himalayan Balsam. The next event is planned for 12th June from 10am till 12noon.

58 PLASTIC FREE

Cllr Barbara Lloyd presented to members information on ‘Plastic Free Wrexham’. This was first established in 2018 and in February 2019 it signed up to the Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Free Communities Pledge. The Group have also signed up to the Memorandum of Understanding with Refill Cymru to promote the Refill scheme. They want Wrexham to be the First Large Town in to achieve Plastic Free Status.

Members were very supportive of the scheme and the Clerk was asked to place this item on the next Management and Finance agenda for further discussion.

59 OFFA COMMUNITY AGENT POST

The Clerk reported that the interviews had now taken place and Mrs Annmarie Ruscoe had been appointed as the new Offa Community Agent. She would take up the post effective from 7th June 2021.

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60 HMO LICENSING CONSULTATION

Discussion took place on Additional Licensing for HMOs across which was first introduced in 2011 and requires renewal every 5 years. The current scheme expires October 2021 and requires re-advertising and consultation to be renewed. Additional Licensing is necessary because legislation requires that only larger HMOs, those of three or more storeys need to be registered and there are only 35 such properties in Wrexham. Additional Licensing therefore enables the Local Authority to “improve both the safety and quality of housing in the private rented sector” which is an essential tool in the Council’s armoury. As of March this year 296 such properties had “additional licences”.

This item was deferred until the July Council meeting for further discussion on the comments to be submitted.

61 INTERNAL AUDIT REPORT 2020/21

The report of the internal auditor was received and accepted as follows:

Issue 1 – We have not seen evidence for the following contracts that 3 quotes were obtained as per the financial regulations: a) Play equipment £6,965 (The play equipment is commissioned by Carla Hughes at Wcbc. She arranged for the 3 quotations but only managed to get 2 as it wasn’t a standard replacement. Offa CC considered the 2 quotes and decided to go with the quote from Ray Parry) b) Maesgwyn kitchen – (We went with Howden’s as they are used by WCBC and Howden’s agreed to give the same discount to us as they do to WCBC. The quote was also secured pre COVID so it was easier to proceed with them rather than chasing other kitchen installers during the first lockdown. The cost of the units were partly matched by the Management Committee who were supportive of using Howdens, as were Morris Construction who installed the kitchen free of charge during lockdown when centre was closed.)

Issue2 – Although there is evidence of a risk assessment being carried out in relation to the re-opening of the community centres, we have not seen evidence that the annual overall financial risk assessment was approved by Council in 2020/21. The risk assessment should be carried out annually and should be adopted by Council. (The Financial Risk Assessment normally carried out in January every year has now been approved at the Annual council meeting held in May).

Issue 3 – Assets have been added to the asset register at the gross purchase cost (including vat) and the valuation for assets added last year has been adjusted to include vat. The value of the fixed assets register should be amended. (Fixed Assets register and the annual return are now amended)

20 62 RESERVES

Discussion took place on the level of reserves held by the Community Council. It was RESOLVED to amend the level of allocated reserves as follows:

Community Centres - £75,000 Play Areas - £50,000 Security - £5,000

The Clerk was asked to arrange a site visit for the play area at Brynycabanau to discuss the maintenance required and the purchase of a double litter bin.

63 ACCOUNTS FOR PAYMENT Accounts were then authorized for payment as follows: Chq No

Rhys Jones (defib cabinet installation) £163.44 3911 JDH Business services (Internal audit fee) £473.76 3912 Maesgwyn Man Comm (Howdens grant repayment)£250.00 3916 Aspec Windows (repairs Maesgwyn CC) £119.00 3917 K Benfield (Plan appl fee plus expenses) £189.30 3918 SR Electrical (CCTV deposit Dol Isaf) £738.00 3919 AJ Domestics (centre cleaning) £180.00 3920 Cambria Maintenance Services (LOCH Door repairs)£519.71 3921 Corona Energy (gas Maesgwyn May) £125.28 DD Brit Tel (business 1 plan account April) £4.80 DD EDF Energy (electric Maesgwyn April) £93.63 DD Total: £2,856.92

64 CORRESPONDENCE • St Giles Primary School – request for grant for outdoor area – it was AGREED to give a grant of £200 • WCBC – playschemes update - noted • WCBC – traffic regulation orders - noted • SR Electrical – quote for annual CCTV servicing at a cost of £95 per camera. This was agreed and it was noted that the 3 newest cameras would still be under warranty. The Clerk will check the length of the warranty that applies. • Barbara Jones letter of thanks – it was AGREED to present her with a bunch of flowers in recognition of her long service as Chair of the Victoria Park Residents Association • BCHB – application for inclusion on pharmaceutical list Boots Retail Park – it was AGREED to object to the application on the grounds that it would be at the expense of local pharmacies in the area.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.20pm.